Mikel Arteta refused to accept that Arsenal’s fight for the Premier League title is over, after being forced to settle for a 1-1 draw against Manchester United on Sunday. The result leaves the North London side 15 points adrift of leaders Liverpool.
Bruno Fernandes’ opener meant that Declan Rice’s first-time strike in the 74th minute was only enough for a draw at Old Trafford, marking the third consecutive Premier League game in which the _Gunners_ have dropped points, after a loss to West Ham and a goalless draw with Nottingham Forest.
_“I don’t want to say that \[the title race is over\] but today the frustration is that we haven’t won our game – we know the urgency and it’s about winning every single match if you want to have any chance of doing that. I don’t think it’s the right moment to talk about that,”_ Arteta told reporters in his post-match press conference.
_“It’s frustrating not to win the game with everything we did, especially in the first half, the first 43-44 minutes, how we dominated every aspect of the game, full control. We lacked a little bit in the final 15-20 metres, to have more shots, more purpose, more direction, the last pass, the last action, but the game is clearly for us and in the direction that we wanted.”_
But as the half-time break neared, Arsenal gifted Manchester United an opportunity to open the scoring after conceding a free-kick in a dangerous area _“where you have to rely on them not take advantage of the individual quality, and that’s a really bad bet against Manchester United,”_ Arteta added.
Bruno Fernandes’ free-kick was sent beyond the reach of a diving David Raya – but the goal wasn’t without controversy. Arsenal’s wall was further than the required 10 yards away from the Portuguese midfielder, though Arteta was in no mood to make excuses.
_“Football is for street-smart players,”_ he explained, _“and \[if\] he’s done that and capitalised on it, he’s more clever than us and the referee.”_
As for whether it should have been allowed to stand, the Spaniard commented: _“I don’t know, but he’s done it, it was a goal, so they took advantage of that. Football is for clever people.”_
Arsenal’s next match is the return fixture of their UEFA Champions League last-16 clash, with Arteta expected to heavily rotate his starting lineup after thrashing PSV Eindhoven in last week’s first leg. Following that, the _Gunners_ host Chelsea at 13:30 GMT on Sunday.